Yeovil Town have voted for the format of the much-maligned EFL Trophy to remain the same next season.

The announcement that the club have voted for the competition, also known as the Checkatrade Trophy, to stay at 64 teams, including 16 under-23 teams from Premier League and Championship clubs, was made after “discussions with the Supporters Alliance”.

But the decision has created a large backlash against the club from supporters who say that the large majority of the fanbase was not consulted about the decision.

Numerous polls of both Yeovil Town supporters and football fans on a nationwide scale have shown that there is an overwhelming majority against the trophy’s existing make-up.

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A poll ran by Twitter page @AgainstLeague3 showed that just two per cent of 3,057 fans voted to keep the trophy’s existing format.

What have clubs been asked to vote for?

Yeovil Town and Bristol Rovers met in the group stage of the Checkatrade Trophy (Image: Tom Sandberg/Pinnacle)

The EFL Trophy was revamped ahead of the start of last season.

Out went the previous competition, which was made up of the 48 clubs from Leagues One and Two and played in a regionalised format until a Wembley final, and in came the new 64 team trophy.

The inclusion of academy teams in the competition was widely criticised by supporters, with many boycotting matches. The group stage of the competition was beset by low crowds, a notable example coming at Charlton Athletic, where just 1,337 fans watched their game with Southampton under-21s at the 27,000 capacity The Valley.

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Yeovil reached the quarter-finals of the competition this season, a run that netted the club a windfall of £85,000.

At a meeting this week, clubs were given three options with regards the future of the competition:

Keep the current 64 team format

Revert to the old 48 team format (in either knockout or group stage form)

Scrap the competition altogether

As of 10am on Thursday, five clubs have announced that they have voted to retain the current format, while seven have voted to revert to 48 teams. One club, Northampton Town, has said it wants the competition scrapped altogether.

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What should happen to the EFL Trophy?

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What are Yeovil Town fans saying?

Glovers supporters have been outspoken in their criticism of Yeovil’s decision, with many claiming that they were not consulted for their opinions.

A meeting of the club’s Achieve by Unity Supporters Consortium was held last month, but no minutes of such discussions exist.

It has led many fans to take to Twitter to express their anger at the club.

Yeovil are not the only club whose decision to vote for the current format has sparked fury.

Notts County have also voted to keep the competition the same, an option that only five per cent of the club’s fans said they wanted in a poll on the club’s official website.